Desexing your cat or dog ATTENTION KIDS & PARENTS This page provides professional vet medical
advice on ALL aspects of animal health,
including reproduction. Kids, please ask an adult to help you with this
section.

Petsonthenet,
SPCA and
pretty much every animal welfare organisation/shelter
we know of in New Zealand strongly advocate desexing of your
pets....NZ
Vet Association advocates the early desexing of
companion pets

Why
your cat or dog (female OR male) should be desexed
Prevent unwanted pregnancies. Unwanted kittens
and puppies are very hard to rehome!
Decrease unwanted homeless stray cat and dog
population problem.

There are too many pets in NZ and not enough homes.
Pets are dying for lack of a home...Breeding yet
more when we already kill those we can't rehome is
totally irresponsible. Whilst you may manage to
rehome your kittens or puppies, in the meantime
thousands of pets are dying in shelters NZ wide each
year, simply for lack of a home...There are only so
many homes for pets in NZ and sadly there are far
too many pets and just not enough homes. Every puppy
or kitten you allow your pet to breed, steals a
place and the chance of life from a pet already
waiting, often on limted time, before they will be
euthanised in a shelter for lack of a home.

Eliminate hormonal behaviour, such as
aggression, spraying to mark territory (male and female), bleeding every six
months for female dogs when in oestrus (on heat), escape attempts from
your property in order
to mate.

Prevents false pregnancies, which
can be very deceptive, lengthy and difficult to manage and resolve.

Prevents infection of the uterus (pyometra).
This can cause septicaemia and septic shock,
potentially leading to death or fatal irreversible kidney failure.

Desexed pets tend to live
longer, healthier lives. Desexed pets can't
get cancer or other diseases of the reproductive
organs such as testicular tumours, cystic ovaries,
ovarian tumours or acute or chronic uterine
infections. Desexed animals are also at far less
risk of mammary cancer, prostate diseases, perianal
tumours and perianal hernias. There will never be a
risk of pregnancy complications.

Desexed pets are vastly easier to rehome than those
who are not.

Desexed pets are far less likely to wander and get
lost. At least 85% of the pets reported as
found/stray on Petsonthenet by Auckland SPCA are NOT
desexed...

Desexed pets are far less of a target to dog
fighters and dog stealers. Desexing helps take
the target off their head!

Desexed pets are fair less likely to fight and be
injured in fights ( = expensive vet bills)

Desexed dogs are usually cheaper to register, saving
money

The earlier your dog is desexed, the less it will
cost as it is often based on weight

What
is desexing?
Desexing (spaying, neutering, fixing,
sterilising)
is a surgical procedure that sterilises the male, or
female, pet ie cat, dog, rabbit so that they cannot
reproduce young

When
should your cat or dog be desexedKitty Cat Fixers
say it perfectly..."Cats
can start having litters at just four months old! So the
standard recommendation is to spay or neuter by 4 months old –
between 12-16 weeks for a girl and 12-20 weeks for a boy).
Kittens should weigh at least 1kg.

Dogs can start having litters of
puppies at very young ages too and sometimes they can have 12 or
13 puppies in just one litter! Do you seriously know that many
people who could give a home to one of those puppies? I don’t.
Again, spay and neuter by 4-6 months old.

Having said this, there are still some
veterinarians around who prefer not to sterilize until animals
are older. If you encounter this, make a few phone calls to
other vets in your area – most will agree that early fixing is
the answer."

Vet Steve Merchant says "The younger a
female dog is desexed, the less developed the reproductive tract is, and
the safer, more simple and less complicated, less risky and less lengthy
the surgical procedure is. So 4-6 months is ideal.A
female dog can be spayed pregnant but there are safety and ethical
considerations associated with this".

Adopt, don't Buy and Save a LifeDid you know that when you adopt a shelter pet
they are usually ALREADY DESEXED,
microchipped, vacinnated, wormed
deflad etc at a fraction of the cost
it would cost at a vet.

Pet-n-Sur makes a contribution to help desex your
cat or dog
as part of all their medical and surgical pet insurance
plans (contribution depends on plan)

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